ABANDONED is a band that impressed me from the first time I saw this album just by its title. Thrash You! seems a pretty indicating title to what the band plays. They don't play Power or Black Metal for sure! Anyway, the only thing that is left to see is if this band can really thrash us. Join me and I assure you that we will find this out for ourselves.
ABANDONED came to life in 2000 (if I am not mistaken), in Darmstadt, Germany. The year they were formed, they managed to release their first demo, entitled Forcefed. One more demo followed in 2003 and the band finally signed a contract with Dockyard 1 to release its debut album Thrash Notes in 2006. One year later (which means now), the band releases its second full-length effort.
As many people say, a band's second full-length album is a very crucial moment. The band has to prove its true abilities and kick some ass or just get lost in mediocrity. Since I haven't listened to any of ABANDONED's previous releases and I do not even know the ex bands of some of the members, I do not know exactly what I will face. The band says it plays a mixture of old school Thrash Metal in the vein of American legends like SLAYER, TESTAMENT and EXODUS. It seems we are talking about a German band that plays the sound of Bay Area Thrash Metal. I am starting to get a bit worried. Let's see... After having listened to Thrash You! several times I can say that ABANDONED's music reminds of some early (as well as recent) SLAYER, TESTAMENT, TANKARD, KREATOR, but in my humble opinion their main influence is the latest ANNIHILATOR releases. This doesn't seem illogical since the band was formed in 2000. The music is covered with a pretty good production, something that is a must for this genre nowadays.
Even though it all sounds pretty cool and many of you will already have loved this band, I can say that Thrash You! didn't have even one moment that would make me bang my fucking head. Maybe it is the riffing that is a bit common, maybe it is Eric's voice which is not the most unique voice I have ever heard. I really don't know. It is just that this album is good, but not good enough to make me grab it again in the near future to listen to it on my portable CD player, in the car or something. I could describe this band as a classic Thrash one. A band that will probably kick ass live, a band that has some fine ideas, but it doesn't manage to create a personal sound that could elevate them a bit higher than mediocrity.
If you are just looking for a cool Thrash Metal album that will accompany you until the release of the new TESTAMENT album or if you just hated the new ANNIHILATOR work, you can rely on ABANDONED. Otherwise, this album may not feed your hunger for pure Thrash Metal.